Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2006 01:40:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tom Dick
Subject: rick-and-alex-4
Alex-
Almost one month had passed since that fateful night. Till now only a
handful of persons knew. Not that I minded, in fact I was happy; I did
not want to rush into a relationship. I met Rick very few times. Both of
us were busy with our personal lives- as journalist, his timetable was
pretty charged and I had to juggle with my studies and my job at the
Italian restaurant, `At Adriano's'. But we never failed to keep in
contact. I dropped at his apartment or office one or two times on the way
to the restaurant but mostly we phoned and talked. For others, it might
be very lame but for me, it was heavenly. Waiting for his phone calls,
the heart beat increasing every time the phone rings and the joy to hear
his voice was becoming the essence of my life.
Right now, I did not know what to do. I had decided to abstain from
relationships till I grew much mature. Hasty commitments bring only pain
and disappointment. Till now, it was okay but this resolution seemed much
more difficult after I met Rick. He was a really fine man. He loved me
very much and cared for me. Was he the man of my life? I don't know.
Should I never let him go? I don't know. But about the pain, am I ready
for them? I don't know. Should I tell him to wait for me? No, it would
not be fair to Rick since I was not certain about what I feel for him.
Perhaps, I should let everything in the hands of time and circumstances.
Eventually, the circumstances presented themselves a Friday night. It was
raining outside and I had closed myself in my dorm room. With coffee by
my side, I was going through a report I had to submit the following week.
It was ten, a few hours before I normally went to bed. The warm music of
an unknown artist was chasing the eerie silence when someone knocked at
my door. Well, I did not have any friends in the dorm so I was quite
alarmed. My first thoughts were of drunken gay bashers. But when I heard
the voice of Rick calling my name, I opened the door.
"Hi!" he said completely drenched and looking a bit lost. We stood
there looking a bit uneasy when I realized: "Oh, I'm so sorry, come in!
I'm not the best host."
"Would you like some coffee?" I asked as he entered and I closed the
door.
"Yeah, it would be nice," he said as he sat on the edge of my bed. Damn
it, my hand was shaking as I made the coffee. He was looking so sexy with
drops of waters dripping from his wet hair. His drenched white shirt was
clinging to his well-toned chest and his soaked pale blue pants were, oh
my god, almost transparent. His dark briefs and the bulge inside it were
more than noticeable.
"Here, it is," I said as I kept two cups of coffee on the nearby table,
"I'll fetch you some towels."
I brought some dry towels from the closet. I was amazed that my knees did
not give way when I turned around and found Rick standing in front of me,
shirtless. I clenched the back of a chair to keep standing.
"I was feeling cold in the drenched shirt so I removed it. I hope you
don't mind," he asked innocently. I instantly sat down to hide my
aroused state.
"It's okay," I uttered breathlessly. I clenched my hand as I saw him
dry himself with the towel. The nails dug in my skin as I observed his
perfect chest. It was not heavily muscled with muscles only where
necessary. It was a real torture for a guy like me, who had a certain
fondness for nice chests, to keep hands off him. `Lucky towel!' I
thought.
"There are some t-shirts in the closet. Choose anyone who like. You
would not like to be shirtless in such a freezing room, would you?" I
said as I toiled to keep my eyes off his chests or pants. Rick looked a
bit disappointed but nevertheless, he put on a navy blue t-shirt. Ouf, if
I did not get this last-minute idea, I might have committed a rape that
night!
"So^┼," I said after some lengthy minutes while both of us sat down and
sipped the coffee.
"Well, it's just that^┼I was passing by and decided to drop in to see
you," he answered hesitantly. I instantly knew that he was lying but I
did not say anything and gave a weak smile. He was looking at his feet
and suddenly, he inhaled extra amount of amount as if he was about to
shout but he only said, quite rapidly: "I'm lying. I left early from
office and had been standing out in rain for about two hours before I got
enough courage to knock at your door."
We both stared at each other for a few seconds. He was waiting for my
reaction but before I could stop myself, I burst into laughter. He looked
away sheepishly. Muttering something like "its okay", he started
towards the door. I stopped him.
"Sorry, it was not really wise and responsible from my part to laugh.
Come here and sit by my side. Why you waited so long? We're friends so
you're free to come here. You could have fallen ill?" I said
empathically.
"In fact I have to ask you something. Alex, would you like to go on a
date with me tomorrow night?" he said calmly. I just sat still,
digesting the news. I opened my mouth but did not know what to say.
"Listen to me first. It's not that we are going to be boyfriends. It
will just be an occasion to know each other more. There'll be no
commitments. We are just going to be^┼special friends. But please don't
refuse," he said earnestly. I was simply at loss. Perhaps, Rick is right
after all.
"Okay, we can try," I said uncertainly. A large grin broke on the face
of Rick. His exuberant face told me that I took the right decision.
The next night, I found myself pacing nervously at the dorm's gate. Rick
was about to come. He said that a simple formal dress would suffice, like
shirt and pants. After foraging about two hours in my wardrobe and
cursing my bad taste of clothes, I settled into a lavender shirt and
black pants. It was my first date since years. My friends tried to hook
me up with several guys but I stepped back each time. I was checking the
time for perhaps the tenth time when Rick showed up in a black car.
"I'm sorry I'm late," he said as I got in.
"Don't be stupid. It's me who has come down early. So where are we
going?" I said.
"Dinner! There's a nice restaurant some fifteen minutes from here. I'm
sure you're going to like it," he said smiling.
We kept talking for the rest of the trip, mostly about restaurants and
food. He was looking really nice with a pale green shirt with `Richard'
embroidered on the pocket. His brown hair was fluttering due to the wind
coming in by the window. They were now shining in the moonlight as if
gold. Each hair seemed to be designed a great artist and the way the hair
was dressed was not less than a masterpiece. I had never been so
fascinated by someone's hair.
We arrived at the restaurant, `Homely'. It got an oriental touch,
mostly Indian. It was rather cozy. We ordered an Indian dish, sounding
something like `Tandoori'. It consisted of chicken and spicy sauces.
Anything besides pizza or Italian dish was welcomed; I did not want to
remember my job in a date. Right?
Rick-
Last night was probably one of the most important ones of my life.
Nothing went as I planned but instead it was even better. It seemed that
nature itself was by my side. I did not know that my drenched state would
have such an effect on Alex. It would have been hilarious to see him so
baffled if I had not been nervous myself. For a moment when Alex laughed,
I thought it was over but luckily it was otherwise. I would have
certainly been broken-heart if he would have refused.
I was a regular customer of the restaurant `Homely'. It was recommended
by the editor-in-chief of the newspaper I worked for. The plus was that I
benefited from privacy. Mainly I came here for a dinner in solitude but
that night, it was really special. For the first time, I was finding the
red drapes, the slow music and even the food romantic. I had in front of
me my Mr. Perfect. I could not help staring at him. Even in those simple
clothes, he was looking gorgeous. First two buttons of his shirt was
undone. Little hair from his chest was visible. He wore a silver chain
with the letter `A', written in gothic style. He certainly had style
and that made him damn sexy. I just wished the time stood still. It did
seem like the line of a movie or book but I meant it.
Suddenly, I found him shivering from cold so moved next to him.
"I'm sorry I did not wear any jacket or coat," I whispered in his ear.
I could feel the heat of my breath going all over him.
"I'm ok. It was my fault to wear something as impractical as this."
"You're spell-binding," I said looking into his blue eyes, "Really
Alex, it's not your fault." I wrapped my arms around him protectively.
"Look at these two! They should be shot at sight, disgusting fags. The
next thing you know is that they be fucking everyone they lay hands on,"
they heard a gruff voice say behind them. Fear and anxiety flashed in
Alex's eyes but I could feel myself shaking with fury. I hated
homophobes. I got up from my seat, despite Alex's protest and went
towards the table from where the voice came. Everyone had their eyes on
me at that moment.
"Excuse me, can I talk with you for some minutes," I said to the man,
not concealing my anger. He was the splitting image of the character
Uncle Vernon in the Harry Potter series. He was a really fat man with a
moustache and no neck at all. He had with him a tall bony woman and a
tiny skinny girl.
"What if I refuse?" he said smirking.
"Oh, I insist. Or else, the scene won't be good in the restaurant and I
don't think the owner would thank you for that," I said with the same
angry tone. The owner was known to be a vicious man, hating disturbance
at his restaurant.
He then followed me to the balcony. It was a quiet place with no one else
but only a glass pane separated the inside and the balcony. I could see
Alex fidgeting in his seat, worried.
"Why you brought me here? Want to have piece of me?" he barked.
"Just shut up, bastard and listen to me. First of all, I would not think
about touching you, even if you're the last man on earth. So you can
stuff your piece in your ugly ass! And second, you'll have to present
your apologies to my partner for insulting him," I said threateningly.
"If you that I'll apologize to a faggot, you're dreaming," he spat.
"I don't think so, I believe. Or else the consequences won't be
pleasant for you. I don't think you would like to have Richard Grey as
your enemy, would you?" I said. He opened his mouth to say something but
when he saw my name written on my shirt, he closed his mouth. I could
sense his tiny brain working.
"By Richard Grey, you mean the reporter of Every Time and son of Arthur
Grey, owner of Grey Breweries?" he said in a small voice.
"Yeah, the same Richard Grey. I'm waiting for you apology and it has to
be in front of every one just like you insulted him. You better hurry,
mother fucker," I snarled. He wanted to retort but bit his tongue. Like
a dog with his tail between his legs, he went towards Alex.
"I'm sorry that I insulted you," he said so that everyone could hear
him and in an eye blink, he left the restaurant without looking back.
I sat down next to Alex. His moral was really down.
"I think we should leave," he said quietly. I nodded and we left. We
did not talk after that until we were fully ensconced in our seats.
"Alex, what's wrong? C'mon tell me. You have been awfully quiet," I
asked as I started the car.
"Was it necessary to make the man apologize? You should not have
stretched the matter!" he said as his eyes flashed with anger. He looked
pretty dangerous this way.
"So you think I should have lie down on his path and allow him to trod
on me?" I said trying to keep my clam.
"No! But when dogs bark, you don't bite them. He would have shut
himself up even if you had not done anything. You can't shut everyone's
mouths! Today you answered to one but there are thousands outside. What
about them?"
"If everyone think and act like me, not thousands but millions can be
answered. Someone got to start and why not me?" I replied furiously.
`What's wrong with him' I thought.
"You are protected by your money and your father, Rick. But common
people can't afford to fight for our rights. If tried, we are shunned by
our own and bashed by strangers. I'm sure if that man did not know your
identity, he would have beaten you up. Due to your stupidity, you could
have landed in hospital. Are you aware of this? You know how worried I
was?"
"What is stupidity for you, for me it's courage. I cannot stand someone
insulting us, especially you," I said.
The rest of the drive went in silence. Neither of us was wrong; just our
perceptions were different. It was just that I wanted the dinner to be
better. I was relying on this dinner to change Alex's mind. Perhaps, I
ruined the sole opportunity I got. I wanted to explain everything to him
but what will I tell him. What if the matter is worsened? I did not get
more time to think because we arrived at the dorm.
"Bye!" he said as he got down.
Bye!" I replied. Our eyes met and we gave each other a weak smile. We
were both still lost in our thoughts.
It's a long chapter compared to the others. And, this one got the POV of
both Alex and Rick. So, what do you think of this chapter. Don't
hesitate to send your views to sexhavoc_66@yahoo.com. You can tell me
what you think of the story the quality of language and the style.